As a rapper, T-Pain has a popularity that few, if any, have today.
But the Florida native’s impact on the music industry is nothing if not controversial. He, after all, popularized the use of “Auto-Tune.” And while he’s far from the only rapper — or the only musician — to ever use corrective techniques in the studio, he was the first one to be upfront about it.
Today, Auto-Tune isn’t as frowned upon as it was back then. And how can it be? When we’re in the age of social media — when everything you put out to the public runs through a filter or is otherwise “perfected” before it’s available for public consumption — “Auto-Tune” isn’t that bad. You might also say it was almost necessary.
the music business owes T-Pain an apology
— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) June 21, 2021
These days, T-Pain is better known for his upcoming book, “Can I Mix You A Drink?” which is a hardcover liquor guide based on his time and experiences in the music business. But he’s certainly done a lot more than write a few books to get his impressive $10 million net worth, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Let’s take a look at the myriad of business opportunities that T-Pain has taken advantage of.
Music Catalogue
T-Pain has a string of hit singles, with his most infamous one being “Buy You A Drank.” But he’s also won two Grammy awards — one for his work with Kanye West, another for his work with Jamie Foxx.
His music catalogue is owned through Nappy Boy Entertainment, a record label imprint that was formed in 2005. Between 2006 and 2010, T-Pain was featured on more than 50 hit singles. And according to Billboard, T-Pain already has two No. 1 singles, 12 Top 10 singles, and 46 charting songs in total.
Film and Television
According to his IMDb page, T-Pain (under his given name, Faheem Najm) has hosted “School of Business” on Fuse. Here, he meets with budding entrepreneurs and gives them advice about business.
But his biggest work in film and television is as a voiceover actor. Adult Swim fans know him from “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” as Frylock, and from “The Cleveland Show” as Theodore Parker Jr.
He was also on “The Masked Singer” in 2019. As “The Monster,” he won the premiere season’s competition.
Phone App
In 2009, T-Pain teamed up with Smule to create an app for iPhones called “I Am T-Pain.” This app allowed the user to “auto-tune” their voice — after a technique that T-Pain, himself, popularized (and got a lot of heat for).
“I came up with the idea like six months back when I saw other artists with applications at the App Store on iPhones,” he said to Billboard at the time of the app’s release. “I was trying to figure out why I didn’t have one yet, especially since I love the iPhone and am always buying applications. So I went to the applications people, got with Smule, and told them we had to make an application that will blow all these other apps out the water. That’s when we came up with the ‘Auto-Tune’ idea.”
Real Estate
According to HotNewHipHop, T-Pain lost his Palm Beach, FL home to foreclosure back in 2018. According to the outlet, T-Pain purchased the property in 2007 for $85,800. But in July 2016, he stopped making payments on the note. In total, T-Pain lost about $117,000 between back mortgage, taxes and fees.
But he fared more than a little better with his home in Duluth, GA, which he purchased back in 2007 for $1.32 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The home was featured on MTV Cribs, but was sold in 2011 for an undisclosed sum.
Other Ventures
In September 2020, T-Pain made headlines when he purchased office space. In a now-deleted Instagram post, he shouted out all the people who helped him along the way.
“Happy Sunday! I GOT MY FIRST OFFICE BUILDING!!!! 🥳🥳🥳🤯🤯🥴🥴,” he wrote, according to TUC Magazine. “It’s never too late!!! Thank y’all for the support over all these years and those to come, thank you @davidbanner for guiding me through my hardships and bringing me out victorious on the other side and definitely thank you @panpan2211 for being by my side through all of it. Let’s get to work.”
